It is a well-known fact that the warm moisture present in a high heat/high humidity environment, such as in a shower, for instance, or a bathroom near or including a shower, condenses on the cold surface of objects such as mirrors and plumbing fixtures. While this phenomenon may not have much effect on plumbing fixtures, a mirror being used in such an environment is rendered completely unusable thereby, at least temporarily. To circumvent the effects of this situation, the device of the present invention has been provided.
Prior art in this field known to the inventor of the present invention includes Japanese patent 0,016,145, United Kingdom (Australia) patent 2,129,295, West German patent 2,034,741, and U.S. Pat. Nos. 281,224, 2,796,506, 4,060,712, 4,701,594, and 4,763,381.
The device of the Japanese patent is intended to prevent icing and frosting of a mirror mounted on the outside of a motor vehicle by electrically heating a glass substrate of such mirror. This is a fixed attachment type application of the principle involved, such a device being permanently attached to a motor vehicle, and having permanently attached wiring from such a mirror to a power source of such a motor vehicle. It was never intended to be portable, nor was it intended for indoor or personal use, such as for shaving, for instance.
The device of the UK patent heats a mirror surface by relying on a flow of heated water through a separate chamber in contact with such a mirror surface. This device must be attached to at least one tube conducting heated water from a source and thus, cannot be completely portable. Moreover, the water-conducting tube is required to be attached to an adapter which must have been previously installed onto a water supply outlet.
The West German patent, as best understood, has a heater element attached to the rear of the mirror thereby requiring continuous connection to a stationary electrical source during use. This would substantially reduce any portability of the device.
The U.S. patents are very similar: the '224 reference has an electrically-supplied heating element at the rear of the mirror, the electrical source is not specifically defined; the '506 reference teaches a fixed mirror that is cleared with air directed across the mirror, the air being heated in one embodiment; the '712 reference teaches a fixed mirror with rear surface heating via an electrically-energized heater for defogging; in the '594 reference another type of fixed mirror is described that uses heated air blown across the surface of the mirror; and the '381 reference describes a vehicle rear view mirror that is heated either with a heated liquid from a tank and/or by electrical heaters, this mirror being substantially fixed in position.
None of the above-described devices is truly portable, with possibly the exception of that of the '224 reference, and they require electrical connections for either operation of blowers and/or heating elements. Thus, it is clear that a need exists for a fully portable non-fogging mirror that can be used in any location without any attachments thereto since prior art devices have failed to provide such a device.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved, non-fogging mirror.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide such an improved non-fogging mirror which is completely portable and self-contained when being used.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a base unit for the selective storage of the non-fogging mirror and which heats the mirror to a sufficient temperature to prevent fogging during use, with the base unit serving to selectively support the mirror for use in one application.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide such an improved non-fogging mirror with attachments for aiding in suspending, standing, and using such a mirror in a preferred embodiment, such as in a shower, for instance.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become readily apparent from the following detailed description, when taken together with the accompanying drawings identified below.